Alcohol Marketing during the 2018 Australian Football Grand Finals - OCTOBER 2018
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Alcohol Marketing during the 2018 Australian Football Grand Finals OCTOBER 2018
AIM
To investigate the amount and type of alcohol marketing during two major sporting events in 2018.
The two games chosen for analysis were the Australian Football League (AFL) grand final, played on 29
September 2018, and the National Rugby League (NRL) grand final, played on 30 September 2018.
BACKGROUND
Globally, three million people died as a result of the harmful use of alcohol in 2016, representing 1 in 20
deaths. Overall, the harmful use of alcohol causes more than 5 per cent of the global disease burden.1 And
yet alcohol remains one of the most heavily promoted products in the world.2
Alcohol advertising during sport is extensive, has features that appeal to children, and instils the idea that
consumption of alcohol is associated with sport as well as positive personality traits and success.3 While
children’s viewing hours on broadcast TV are normally free from alcohol advertisements, an exemption
in the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice allows alcohol advertisement alongside sport.4 The
exemption is heavily exploited by the alcohol industry, with 49.5 per cent of all alcohol advertising shown
during the broadcast of live sporting events.5
Young people’s exposure to alcohol advertising and marketing is associated with young people drinking
more and from an earlier age.6,7,8 A systematic review of longitudinal studies on the impact of alcohol
advertising on adolescent alcohol use reviewed thirteen longitudinal studies that followed up a total
of more than 38,000 young people over periods ranging from 8 to 96 months. The studies measured
exposure to advertising and promotion in a variety of ways, including estimates of the volume of media
and advertising exposure, ownership of branded merchandise, recall and receptivity. The researchers
concluded that alcohol advertising and promotion increases the likelihood that adolescents will start to
use alcohol, and drink more if they are already using alcohol.9
METHOD
BROADCAST SELECTION
The two broadcasts as shown on free-to-air television in the ACT were identified and recorded in full:
߰߰ The AFL grand final on 29 September 2018 at the MCG, broadcast on Channel 7
߰߰ The NRL grand final on 30 September 2018 at the Sydney Olympic Park/ ANZ Stadium, broadcast
on Channel 9
The eligible content was the entirety of the game and advertisements in the commercial breaks, plus
pre-game coverage of 10 minutes and post-game coverage of 10 minutes.
The AFL grand final was shown in its entirety during children’s viewing hours (before 8.30pm).
The NRL grand final began at 7.20pm during children’s viewing hours but ended after 8.30pm. The game
was analysed in full but segmented into two categories – a) during, and b) after 8.30pm – to enable a
separate analysis of alcohol advertising exposure during children’s viewing hours.
2 END ALCOHOL ADVERTISING IN SPORTCODING FRAMEWORK
A customised coding framework was used to identify and categorise all verbal and visual alcohol
references. The following types of alcohol marketing were included in the analysis:
߰߰ Any marketing communication for an alcohol product
߰߰ Any marketing communication for an on-licence or off-licence premise whose primary function
is to sell alcohol
߰߰ PR branding by alcohol industry-funded bodies such as the SAPRO, DrinkWise10
The following types of marketing and references were excluded from the analysis:
߰߰ Any on-licence premise whose primary function is not to sell alcohol, e.g. supermarkets, casinos,
resorts and accommodation
߰߰ Visual or verbal references to alcohol that were not associated with a specific brand
߰߰ Spectators’ clothing
߰߰ Actual alcoholic drinks being consumed in the stadium
In line with Graham et al (2014) ‘Alcohol Marketing in Televised English Professional Football: A Frequency
Analysis’, for visual references, each instance of an identifiable alcohol brand in the stadium or on the
screen coming into shot was counted as one occurrence. Thus, for example, a static advertising billboard
alongside the field of play may have been counted multiple times each time it came into shot.11
No useful precedent was found in the literature for quantifying the impact of rolling banner or dynamic
adverts (herein referred to as dynamic adverts). Despite this type of advert having the potential to be
more attention-grabbing than a static advert, it was decided to count these adverts in the same way, i.e.
to count a dynamic advert only once each time it (a) appeared in a new camera shot; or (b) disappeared
and then reappeared in the same shot. Thus, a camera shot in which the content was repeated multiple
times across the length of the advert was only counted as one occurrence of advertising.
In accordance with the method used by Jones et al (2013) in ‘Alcohol Advertising During Televised
Australian Football Finals’, all visual occurrences were only included if the brand was visible for one
second or more.12 In addition to this, an advertisement was only counted as one occurrence if it was
identifiable with at least a quarter of the brand visible, and not distorted or blurred.
Any replays shown during the game time were treated as new coverage for the purposes of coding.
The type of marketing communication was recorded using a customised version of the framework outlined
by Jones et al (2013) in ‘Alcohol Advertising During Televised Australian Football Finals’.13 Categories used
were:
߰߰ Fixed advertising: Advertising on static banners or other static forms within the stadium.
߰߰ Field advertising: Advertising on the field itself, e.g. painted on the grass.
߰߰ Dynamic advertising: Advertising on revolving or electronic banners or screens within the stadium.
߰߰ Commercial break advertising: Advertisements that appeared during commercial breaks.
߰߰ Integrated advertising: Advertising that appeared on the screen as opposed to in the live
coverage itself. For example, popups and pull-through banners.
߰߰ Sponsorship: Specific segments relating to the game that were sponsored such as replays, score
reviews, referee decision reviews, and half-time on-field activities; team sponsorship including
logos on players’ uniforms, logos within locker rooms, and team banners.
߰߰ Verbal: References by commentators, presenters or interviewees.
ALCOHOL MARKETING DURING THE 2018 AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL GRAND FINALS
3A commercial break advertisement was counted as one occurrence, regardless of the duration of the advertisement. However, the duration of each advertisement was recorded to allow for separate analysis. To minimise individual coder bias, coding of each game was undertaken by three individuals, and results were compared for their consistency. The coders watched each game in full, with the ability to pause and re-watch certain sections. Where there was variation, the mean of the three results was taken. Some discrepancy was anticipated, owing to the subjectivity inherent in judging which occurrences of branding were identifiable, and the likelihood that individuals’ attention would be drawn to different stimuli during moments of multiple simultaneous occurrences. Coders were also asked to identify and count occurrences of any alcohol counter-advertising or alcohol- related health awareness campaigns. RESULTS In the AFL grand final, 121 occurrences of alcohol marketing were identified across the 181 minutes of pre-game, game and post-game coverage analysed. This amounted to 0.7 occurrences per minute. There were 118 occurrences during the game itself (including quarter and half times), again amounting to 0.7 per minute (when rounded to one decimal point). All of these took place within children’s TV viewing hours. The vast majority of this exposure was driven by dynamic advertising in the stadium. The alcohol industry-funded SAPRO (Social Aspects and Public Relations Organisation) Drinkwise14 sponsored the Score Review, which had three occurrences across the game. Brands that were identified as advertising during the final were Carlton Draught, IGA Liquor, Plonk (off-licence in Canberra), DrinkWise, Canadian Club, Mercury Hard Cider, Johnnie Walker, Iron Jack, The Bottle-O, Wolf Blass and Hahn. In the NRL grand final, 376 occurrences of alcohol marketing were identified. This amounted to 2.9 per minute across the 131 minutes of pre-game, game and post-game coverage analysed. Advertising was most frequent during the match itself, with 365 occurrences in the 111 minutes of the game (including half time), or 3.3 per minute. 211 of these occurrences took place within the 64 minutes of the game (including halftime) that were broadcast during children’s TV viewing hours. This amounted to 3.3 per minute during children’s viewing hours. Given that children’s viewing hours ended (officially) at 8.30pm, all occurrences from the start of the second half onwards were excluded from this calculation. The majority of alcohol advertising exposure during the NRL was driven by the on-field advertising which was visually pervasive during game play. Fixed advertising in the stadium was the second most common type of alcohol advertising, followed by dynamic. Brands that were identified as advertising during the final were Victoria Bitter, Tooheys, Bundaberg Rum, Mercury Hard Cider, Wolf Blass, Liquorland, 1st choice liquor, Iron Jack and Canadian Club. During the NRL game, 11 occurrences were logged of a NSW Government anti-drink driving fixed advertisement. The table below displays the type of advertising by occurrence in each game. Figures displayed are the mean averages of the coders’ data. ‘All coverage’ refers to all analysed coverage including ten minutes pre-game and ten minutes post-game. ‘Game only including breaks’ refers to game time only, including quarter, half and three-quarter time where applicable. 4 END ALCOHOL ADVERTISING IN SPORT
AFL AFL NRL NRL
TYPE OF
ADVERTISING ALL GAME ONLY ALL GAME ONLY
COVERAGE INCLUDING BREAKS COVERAGE INCLUDING BREAKS
Fixed 3 3 95.3 85
Field 0 0 215.3 214.6
Dynamic 98.3 97 60.7 60.7
Commercial break 11 10 5 5
Integrated 2.3 2.3 0 0
Sponsorship 5 5 0 0
Verbal 1 1 0 0
Total 120.6 118.3 376.3 365.3
DISCUSSION
This analysis reveals that the AFL and NRL 2018 grand finals were highly saturated with alcohol advertising,
the vast majority of which took place during children’s TV viewing hours.
Saturation of alcohol advertising during the NRL grand final was just over three times higher than
during the AFL grand final. This difference was largely driven by the on-field advertising during the
NRL which was visually pervasive during game play. The two on-field advertisements, for Victoria Bitter,
were placed close to the try line on either end of the field. As well as ensuring high exposure this also
associated the alcohol brand with many of the key moments in the game, being visible as teams were in
the penultimate, high stakes moments before scoring.
These are likely to be conservative estimates of the exposure to alcohol advertising that occurred during
the full televised broadcast, due to the exclusions and measures put in place for this research study to
avoid over-estimation.
Exposure to alcohol advertising in the stadium itself is likely to have been higher due to the potential to
be constantly exposed to the static advertising within the stadium.
There were 100,000 spectators at the AFL and 82,688 at the NRL. The estimated TV audience was 3.38
million and 3.03 million people respectively.15 As per previous years, the real audience is likely to be more
than double that figure.16
In conclusion, a significant proportion of the population was potentially exposed to a high level of alcohol
advertising during the grand finals. This indicates that professional sport is currently being used as a
highly effective conduit for mass population alcohol marketing during children’s viewing hours.
ALCOHOL MARKETING DURING THE 2018 AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL GRAND FINALS
5REFERENCES
1 World Health Organization (2018). Global status report on alcohol and health 2018. Geneva: World Health Organization. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. Retrieved
08/10/2018 from: http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_alcohol_report/en/
2 Jernigan D. (2010). The extent of global alcohol marketing and its impact on youth. Contemp Drug Probl. 37, 57–89.
3 Jones S.C., Phillipson L. & Barrie L.R. (2010). ‘Most men drink... especially like when they play sports’: Alcohol advertising during sporting broadcasts and the potential
impact on child audiences. Journal of Public Affairs 10 (1-2), 59-73.
4 Free TV. Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice. Retrieved 08/10/2018 from: http://www.freetv.com.au/media/Code_of_Practice/Free_TV_Commercial_
Television_Industry_Code_of_Practice_2018.pdf.
5 VicHealth (2014). Alcohol and junk food advertising and promotion through sport: Research highlights. Melbourne: VicHealth.
6 Lobstein T., Landon J., Thornton N., and Jernigan D. (2015). The association between alcohol marketing and youth alcohol consumption: A systematic review for Public
Health England. UK Health Foundation, London.
7 Anderson P., De Bruijn A., Angus K., Gordon R., and Hastings G. (2009). Impact of alcohol advertising and media exposure on adolescent alcohol use: A systematic
review of longitudinal studies. Alcohol and Alcoholism 44(3), 229-243.
8 Smith L., & Foxcroft D. (2009). The effect of alcohol advertising, marketing and portrayal on drinking behaviour in young people: Systematic review of prospective cohort
studies. BMC Public Health 9(51).
9 Anderson P., De Bruijn A., Angus K., Gordon R., and Hastings G. (2009). Impact of alcohol advertising and media exposure on adolescent alcohol use: A systematic
review of longitudinal studies. Alcohol and Alcoholism 44(3), 229-243.
10 Miller, P.G., de Groot, F., McKenzie, S., Droste, N. (2011). Vested interests in addiction research and policy. Alcohol industry use of social aspect public relations
organizations against preventative health measures. Addiction 106(9), 1560-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03499.x; Petticrew, M., Hessari, N.M., Knai, C., &
Weiderpass, E. (2017). How alcohol industry organisations mislead the public about alcohol and cancer. Drug and Alcohol Review 37(3), 293-303. doi.org/10.1111/
dar.12596.
11 Graham, A., Adams, J. (2014). Alcohol Marketing in Televised English Professional Football: A Frequency Analysis. Alcohol and Alcoholism 49(3), 343-348. doi.
org/10.1093/alcalc/agt140
12 Jones, S.C., Barrie, L., Chapman, M., Corr, N.J., & Davoren, S. (2013). Alcohol Advertising During Televised Australian Football Finals. R. Brodie. ANZMAC 2013
Conference Proceedings 1-7. Auckland, New Zealand: University of Auckland.
13 Jones, S.C., Barrie, L., Chapman, M., Corr, N.J., & Davoren, S. (2013). Alcohol Advertising During Televised Australian Football Finals. R. Brodie. ANZMAC 2013
Conference Proceedings 1-7. Auckland, New Zealand: University of Auckland.
14 Miller, P.G., de Groot, F., McKenzie, S., Droste, N. (2011). Vested interests in addiction research and policy. Alcohol industry use of social aspect public relations
organizations against preventative health measures. Addiction 106(9), 1560-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03499.x; Petticrew, M., Hessari, N.M., Knai, C., &
Weiderpass, E. (2017). How alcohol industry organisations mislead the public about alcohol and cancer. Drug and Alcohol Review 37(3), 293-303. doi.org/10.1111/
dar.12596.
15 Sydney Morning Herald (1 Oct 2018). TV ratings: Did the AFL or NRL grand final draw in a bigger audience? Retrieved 05/10/2018 from: https://www.smh.com.au/
entertainment/tv-and-radio/tv-ratings-did-the-afl-or-nrl-grand-final-draw-in-a-bigger-audience-20181001-p50722.html.
16 Roy Morgan (3 Oct 2017). Ratings figures fail to capture the full picture of AFL & NRL Grand Final viewership. Retrieved 05/10/2018 from: http://www.roymorgan.com/
findings/7362-grand-final-afl-nrl-viewing-comparison-september-october-2017-201710032246.
6 END ALCOHOL ADVERTISING IN SPORTABOUT THE FOUNDATION FOR ALCOHOL RESEARCH & EDUCATION
The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation working
to stop the harm caused by alcohol. Alcohol harm in Australia is significant. More than 5,500 lives are lost every
year and more than 157,000 people are hospitalised, making alcohol one of our nation’s greatest preventative health
challenges. For over a decade, FARE has been working with communities, governments, health professionals and
police across the country to stop alcohol harm by supporting world-leading research, raising public awareness
and advocating for changes to alcohol policy. FARE is guided by the World Health Organization’s Global Strategy
to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol for stopping alcohol harm through population-based strategies, problem
directed policies, and direct interventions. If you would like to contribute to FARE’s important work, call us on (02)
6122 8600 or email info@fare.org.au.
ALCOHOL MARKETING DURING THE 2018 AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL GRAND FINALS
7©2018 Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education | PO Box 19 Deakin West ACT 2600 | info@endalcoholadvertisinginsport.org.au
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